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“Know me?” That’s impossible... I started to say but then I remembered I claimed to be from the Nashville area. I plastered on my own smile. “How do you think you know me?”
Leviathan released me partly, pointed a thumb at himself. “You competed in the Olympics the year I went. Well, I almost competed.”
“The Olympics?” Was he for real?
“Yeah, you were young. Way younger than me, still in school. Maren Davidson. I remember your name on the roster because I really loved Harleys, even back then.”
That was me alright. The fucker did know of me.
“I didn’t end up going, either. That was a lifetime ago. I was sixteen. My mom got nervous about it. She wouldn’t fly, and she said there were too many perverts around. I never got that close to qualifying again. Not that I didn’t try. Little did I know that would be my last shot.”
I didn’t remember him being an Olympic hopeful that year, but I was so young. Maybe he was pulling my leg.
“Yeah, I was twenty-six. Already too old, so my last shot too. I got banned that year. From swimming.”
I slapped my hand over my mouth, reacting. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
There was no denying he had the physique of a swimmer. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his tattoos that took on a whole new and obvious meaning now. Evidently, he wasn’t lying.
“It was nothing,” he blew it off.
“Drugs?” I guessed, teasing him.
“No,” he said in such a defensive way, he clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Then he softened, surprising me. He answered, “Sexual harassment.”
“Oh.” I made a face before I caught myself.
“Yeah, I was who your mother warned you about. No, I mean, that’s what everyone thought. One of the lady coaches had a thing for me, older lady. Older than me back then in her forties. She threatened me. I gave into her, fucked her, and ended up suffering the consequences anyway.”
“How did you end up here?”
“Same as you really. Had to use all this muscle for something. Besides, that coach was jealous of my real girl. Bitch found out I had a baby mama back home and wanted to ruin my life. She did.”
“Then you turned to motorcycles and crime?”
“Not at first. My wife’s older brother had been part of this club. Soon as I got banned, fucker threatened my life. He said I had to finally make an honest woman of her and join up since I’d lost my career. I agreed. Had nothing else going for me anyway. He’s since passed, but here I am, still one of these Bastards.”
“You didn’t love her, your wife?”
“We had a four-year-old together. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
“But you’re still married?” I asked, clearly asking something more since I was pressed against his dick that pulsated through his pants.
“Yeah, still married. But it won’t keep me out of your bed,” he promised with a simper.
Before I could play like I didn’t want him there, someone cleared their throat beside us.
Sweet Tea stood with her hands on her hips.
“Why ain’t you on stage?” she barked at me.
Hell, was it time for me to go on? I’d lost track.
Leviathan hadn’t stirred, he still held me against his substantial erection.
“We’re not finished here, Sweet Tea,” he said, like he had the upper hand. “Maren has somewhere to be. She’s not performing tonight.”
Holy moly. He meant I’d be with him. I was putty in his hands.
“Levi, put your dick back in your pants. You’re needed too. I’m just a messenger. Pagan’s looking for you. Club business.”
Pagan was the Vice President and the only man beside his President who Levi answered to. At that he simply let go of me. He left like nothing had happened.
Frustrated, I watched him walk away.
Sweet Tea noticed the dreamy look on my face. She warned, “Watch yourself. That man will break you.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’m tough.”
“I don’t mean your heart. That biker’s dick’s the size of a Mac Truck.”
“You been with him too? I thought it was a large pizza.”
“Paisley’s always using the absurd food scale she made up, when we already got a perfectly good road scale. Take Pagan, he’s a wood paneled station wagon from the seventies cause he’s big, but he’s all hippyish. No manscaping to be found. You’ll be going to the woods with that one. Our Prez, he’s a monster truck, larger than life, loud paint. You might’ve seen one, but you’ll never own one. Dick destroys everything. Levi’s a Mac Truck. You can drive it, but you need a whole distinct set of credentials. Some training. And he’s dangerous, more interested in running you down than driving. But when he does get in the right gear, he likes you skinny girls. Toothpicks. Likes splitting you toothpicks.”
“I’m so not a toothpick,” I said, laughing at the thought and her wild comparisons. I was heavier and curvier than most of the girls here, but that wasn’t saying much. Most of them were stick creatures. “Sweet Tea, you’re gorgeous.”
She huffed like she didn’t believe me.
I was being genuine. She had enough meat on her to make her truly attractive, in my opinion. She wore it well and looked like she could kick someone’s ass. I didn’t want to get on her bad side.
“I know I’m more than a snack but honey, some men can’t handle me. But I remind Levi too much of his wife. Wait ‘til Chloe hears about you. She’s going to stick her boot up your ass.”
“Why me? Everyone says he sleeps with, well, everyone around here.”
“Yeah, but they all hoes. You’ve not taken any clients the whole time you’ve been here, so not a hoe yet. Now monstrous Levi’s seen hugged up on you. Biker doesn’t do PDA. The way I see it, he must’ve been the reason you’ve not been with any other men. His girl’s gonna stomp your lights out. She don’t want to lose him. They done got three kids together.”
“Three kids?” Oh, yeah. He said he had a kid with the girl he married. But three? I hadn’t even had time to think about what that meant. Levi had kids. Why hadn’t anyone told me? Killer sure as hell hadn’t mentioned it when he sent me to lure the man to his death.
“Three daughters, the oldest one sixteen now, if you can believe it. The other two are a lot younger.”
I tried using everything I’d learned to calculate in my head but failed. I asked her since she seemed to know everything., “How old is Leviathan?”
“Thirty-nine.”
I’d been right, under forty. Not that it mattered. I had a mission. I’d made progress, but I didn’t see him again that night.
As I sat in the hoop that hung over the stage at Royal Road, installed for me, I watched for the big guy. He was hard to miss and nowhere to be seen as I twisted into impossible, seductive poses. All to lure him in.
After the show, I searched some more to no avail. I went to bed alone thinking of all the people I’d met over the last month that would die because of me, and kids maybe. What the hell was I doing? Who would I harm in my quest for danger? Afterall, that was why I became a prospect and ended up on this mission in the first place.
I thought he’d been wanting to take me to his bed, like he said, but I didn’t see Leviathan again all week. The biker was always gone. He was supposed to be Kingpin’s Enforcer, but he was barely around. Another biker guarded their President.
Taking my morning stroll, I walked past the row of houses for the officers, wanting to somehow run into him. I wondered if he was gone with his wife and kids. Though, I didn’t want to chase him. And when I did see him show up like magic the next week, he was preoccupied.
When I felt like I might have to do something more drastic, like text the man, since Paisley had given me his number, we met briefly completely by accident.
I woke up starving, staggered down the stairs like a zombie, filled a plate from the buffet on autopilot and sat at the bar before the early show. To compete with the tourist trap of Broadway in Nashville, Royal Road’s shows started at two in the afternoon.
Levi asked if I needed some coffee.
“Yeah, I’m useless without it,” I said before I even realized I’d taken a seat beside him.
